Toronto Condo and Real Estate Blog

GTA Resale Housing Remains Stable in August

The Greater Toronto Area real estate market remained stable throughout the first half of this month, Toronto Real Estate Board President Maureen O’Neill announced today.

“We’re continuing to see consistent levels with respect to sales volumes and prices,” said Ms. O’Neill. “While the numbers are more conservative than those in recent years, the stability we’re experiencing should help sustain consumer confidence as we move into the fall real estate market.”

With 3,019 transactions in the Greater Toronto Area during the first half of the month, sales were down 13% compared to the 3,480 sales recorded at mid-August last year, and off eight per cent compared to the 3,290 sales recorded during the same period in 2006.

In the City of Toronto, 1,192 transactions were recorded, down 15% from the 1,411 sales that took place in the first half of August 2007, and off six per cent compared to the 1,269 sales that occurred in the same timeframe two years ago.

“While 2007 was a record year, it is still worthwhile to note that sales in the City of Toronto increased 11% between mid-August 2006 and mid-August 2007, before the Toronto Land Transfer Tax went into effect,” said Ms. O’Neill.

In the 905 Region there were 1,827 sales to mid-month, down 12% from the 2,069 transactions that took place in the same period a year ago, and off 10% from the 2,021 sales recorded in the first two weeks of August 2006.

Prices meanwhile, increased compared to the same timeframe last year. The current average price in the GTA is $373,844, up five per cent from the mid-August 2007 figure of $354,088.

In the City of Toronto the average price is currently $394,563, up seven per cent from the $370,037 figure recorded a year ago.

In the 905 Region the average price is $360,325, up five per cent from the $343,210 recorded at mid-August 2007.

There are currently 26,128 active listings, up 28% from the 20,365 properties available for sale a year ago. This has resulted in homes remaining on the market for a slightly longer period of 35 days compared to 32 days last August.

Several GTA neighbourhoods however, experienced brisk sales throughout the first half of this month.

In Whitby (E15) transactions increased 12% compared to the same period a year ago as a result of strong detached home sales.

Detached home sales also led Aurora (N06) to a 21% increase in transactions.

Streetsville (W19) saw eight per cent more transactions driven by a significant increase in the sale of attached row houses.

In Downtown Toronto (C01) transactions increased six per cent compared to mid-August 2007 as a result of strong sales in all housing types.

“It’s encouraging to see strong activity levels in pockets throughout all four corners of the GTA.” Said Ms. O’Neill.

————————————————————————————————————

Contact the Jeffrey Team for more information - 416-388-1960

With a decline in housing starts making headlines Monday, TD Bank economist Pascal Gauthier warns  investors to dig a little deeper into the data.

“While the figures for July are disappointing, one should not read too much into an over-sized drop in multiple starts in a single month,” he wrote in a note. “This month-to-month volatility in this market segment is remarkably high on both the upside and downside.”

Canadian housing starts slipped to an annualized 186,500 units in July, short of the expected 210,000, according to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. Ontario led the pullback as its condo and multiple-unit starts pulled back by 28%. Meanwhile, urban single unit starts decreased at a more gradual 7% across the country.

“The trend in single starts is usually more telling, and it remains consistent with our theme for this sector of the Canadian economy, which is that it should experience a cooling after running too hot for too long,” Mr. Gauthier wrote.

“A greater number of existing homes for sale and the continued long-term shift to smaller and relatively cheaper multiple-family units will continue to put downward pressure on single family starts over the next 12-18 months.”

He said that while multiple starts will ease off from the levels seen in 2008, they will likely settle back around the relatively robust levels seen in 2005-07.

“There will be a natural tendency to read too much into this monthly decline and straight-line these figures forward to conclude that construction is falling off the rails,” he wrote. “We think it important to caution observers against such a knee-jerk reaction to this month’s CMHC report. Residential construction is easing and should continue to do so, but at a modest year-over-year rate of 3-5% contraction, not July’s 16%.”

————————————————————————————————————

Contact the Jeffrey Team for more information - 416-388-1960

Canada News Wire

The seasonally adjusted annual rate of housing starts was 186,500 units in July, down from 215,900 units in June, according to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC).

“After a strong first half of the year, the volatile multiple segment is now readjusting itself.” said Brent Weimer, Senior Economist at CMHC’s Market Analysis Centre. “This brings activity since the start of the year closer in line with our 2008 forecast of more than 200,000 housing starts for the seventh consecutive year.”

The seasonally adjusted annual rate of urban starts decreased by 14.8% in July compared to June. Both urban multiples and singles moved down, with a drop of 20.2% for multiples to 91,600 units, and a 6.6% decline for singles to 69,800 units.

The seasonally adjusted annual rate of urban starts went down in Ontario and to a lesser extent in the Prairies, where housing starts decreased by 38.8% to 47,800 and by 1.6% to 30,600 in July, respectively. Urban starts increased slightly by 2.2% to 41,200 units in Quebec, by 2.4% to 8,700 units in Atlantic Canada, and by 5.1% to 33,100 units in British Columbia. While single starts decreased in all regions in July, with the exception of the Atlantic Canada where they remained unchanged, multiple urban starts only registered a decline in Ontario.

Rural starts were estimated at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 25,100 units in July(2).

For the first seven months of 2008, actual starts in rural and urban areas combined were up an estimated 2.3% compared to the same period last year. Year-to-date actual starts in urban areas have increased by an estimated 2.4% over the same period in 2007. Actual urban single starts for the January to July period of this year were 15.5% lower than they were a year earlier, while multiple starts were up by 19.0% over the same period.

As Canada’s national housing agency, CMHC draws on more than 60 years of experience to help Canadians access a variety of quality, environmentally sustainable, and affordable homes - homes that will continue to create vibrant and healthy communities and cities across the country.

————————————————————————————————————

Contact the Jeffrey Team for more information - 416-388-1960